


Surviving Seventh Year: A Guide by Scorpius Malfoy

by violetclarity



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Astoria Lives, Consent Issues, Creature Fic, Draco Malfoy is a Good Parent, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Gryffindor Albus Severus Potter, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Kissing, M/M, Masturbation, Minor Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Not Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Compliant, Roommates, School Projects, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, Veela Scorpius Malfoy, discussion/description of headaches; nausea; loss of appetite; and fainting, extremely non-platonic cuddling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 06:08:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20466275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetclarity/pseuds/violetclarity
Summary: It’s one thing for your parents to tell you when you’re twelve that you might have dormant Veela genes. It’s another thing entirely to be seventeen, presenting as a Veela, and forced to live with the boy you’ve been infatuated with for years – because he’s your mate.





	Surviving Seventh Year: A Guide by Scorpius Malfoy

**Author's Note:**

> Veela fics have been a trope in HP fandom for many years, especially in Harry/Draco, and I have read a _lot_ of them. Although I tried to create Veela lore for this fic that was an amalgamation of the more common aspects of the trope, as well as put my own twist on it, I’ve definitely been influenced by other Veela stories I’ve read and loved. Nothing in this fic was based specifically on any other fics, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the many and varied takes on Veela lore that this story stands on the shoulders of!
> 
> Thank you to the incomparable **whiskyandwildflowers** for supporting me through the genesis and something resembling plotting of this fic, and to the fabulous **aibidil** for beta-reading.
> 
> Lots of love to **FidgetyWeirdo** for co-modding Scorbus Fest with me this year!
> 
> This fic was written for Scorbus Fest 2019: AU Edition.

Elinor laughed when she caught Scorpius adjusting his tie in the mirror outside the Transfiguration classroom.

“Mmm, good call,” she joked. “You looked like a right slob before, but now that you’ve tightened that Windsor it’s going to be impossible for Albus Potter to keep from throwing himself into your arms.”

“Shut up!” Scorpius hissed, face colouring. People were looking at them as they filed into the classroom. People were often looking at Scorpius – even now, beginning his seventh year, he hadn’t gotten used to his own popularity. Everyone liked to talk to him, and wanted to sit next to him in classes and at meals. He thought that he was nice and polite, but also a bit nerdy and kind of weird; nothing that warranted attention or admiration. But no one else agreed, except for the one person Scorpius would have liked to find him fascinating.

Elinor was at his shoulder as they made their way into the classroom. “Hey, there’s no shame in that game,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “You’ve got an opportunity to talk to him, you should take it. Merlin knows you haven’t done anything else about it the past two years, and if I have to spend another term hearing about your unrequited love for–”

“Scorpius!”

Albus Potter smiled at him from across the room, gesturing to the empty seat beside him. Scorpius’s face flamed and he forced himself to smile back. Dazedly, he realised that Elinor had stopped talking, and dragged his attention back to her.

“What were you saying?”

She pulled a face. “Ugh, you’re disgusting. Where’s Niles?” She wandered off to find her own partner, and Scorpius picked his way across the room to Albus.

Professor MacMillan had assigned their partners for the research project they would be working on throughout the first term. Each pair was assigned a research question, and they would have one class period each week to spend on it, in addition to work that would be done outside of class. Scorpius had had the good luck – or misfortune – to be assigned to work with Albus Potter.

Albus looked up as Scorpius slid into the seat beside him. He’d already taken out his book, which was open on the desk. His hair flopped into his face, covering the tops of his glasses and throwing his eyes into shadow; but that was for the best, because Albus’s eyes were amazing and otherwise Scorpius might get caught staring at them.

Scorpius pushed that thought down and got out his materials. He didn’t want to seem unprepared in front of Albus.

They were seventh years now, and Professor MacMillan was trying to give them more responsibility; as such, there was no strict beginning to the lesson. They were expected to arrive on time and begin working because it was necessary for finishing the assignment. Like last week, though, Scorpius didn’t know where to begin.

Albus tilted his head, tossing his hair mostly out of his eyes. The movement shouldn’t have made Scorpius’s pulse jump. “I went to the library last night,” Albus said. “I made a list of books that I think we should check out.”

Scorpius swallowed, mouth suddenly dry, and pulled out his own parchment. “I started comparing and contrasting those different elements,” he said. Their research question focused on elemental Transfiguration – what properties were transferable or not after an item had been magicked.

Albus reached for the parchment, and Scorpius slid it over. His heart thumped when Albus nodded, a pensive look on his face. “This is great,” Albus said. “Why don’t we spend this class time formalising this list and coming up with preliminary tests, then for our outside of class sessions this week, we can meet in the library to pick up these books, and do a round of tests?”

“That sounds good to me,” Scorpius said. “I’ll just–” He went to duplicate his list, then realized Albus was still holding it; in his surprise, he fumbled the wand movement, and sent the list flying from under Albus’s hand towards the high ceiling. Mortified and refusing to look at Albus, he summoned it back and successfully performed the charm.

Only Albus could make him act this way. Around others, Scorpius was good at putting up a facade of nonchalance, pretending that he knew what he was doing and didn’t feel like he was fumbling blindly through most conversations. He pulled it off well, but when he didn’t, it wasn’t the end of the world – partially because no one ever really noticed, and partially because Scorpius chose not to stress about saving face in front of people whose opinions he didn’t care about.

Albus was different for many reasons – Scorpius _did_ care about his opinion, and how. Albus had never seemed impressed or even aware of Scorpius’s popularity, so of course all Scorpius wanted to do around him was stand out. And of course he never succeeded – just last week in front of Albus he had botched a simple _Accio,_ sending a heavy tome careening straight for his face. Albus’s expression, the way he’d looked down, face gone tight, had made Scorpius’s belly twist with mortification.

If they spent more time together, Scorpius might have built up an immunity to Albus’s charm and been able to stop embarrassing himself in front of him. But as it was, they were in different houses, and this project was the first time they’d worked together since fifth year.

Now, Albus smiled as Scorpius handed him the duplicate copy. “Thanks.”

Scorpius ignored how thick and clumsy his tongue felt as he spoke. “You’re welcome.”

***

Scorpius had gotten to the library first – earlier, actually, than he’d planned to meet Albus. He hadn’t been planning on being so timely – he didn’t want to seem overeager – but he’d needed to get out of the Great Hall. Elinor and Niles had been reminiscing at length about Scorpius’s infatuation with Albus, which was embarrassing and not what Scorpius wanted to be thinking about before he met with the boy in question.

It wasn’t his fault, anyway, Scorpius thought grumpily as he scratched down a few notes on his parchment. Albus was cute now, with his floppy hair and too-long limbs, but with the promise that he would be even more beautiful in the future – kind eyes and a face made for smiling, broad shoulders that Scorpius wanted to feel against him. Elinor would tell him he was biased, that Albus wasn’t nearly as attractive as his older brother, but Scorpius didn’t care about James.

And besides, it wasn’t just the way Albus looked – it was the rare moments when Albus let his guard down and laughed without shame, and the insightful comments he’d made during their DADA OWLs review group during fifth year. That was when Scorpius’s feelings had really blossomed – seeing Albus every week, stealing glances at him across the library table. They’d always been in each other’s orbit, due to being in the same year, and Rose’s friendship with Niles, but they’d never interacted much outside of their overlapping groups.

They hadn’t done that much, anyway, since that OWL review group – a few short conversations at parties or over dinner, but not the hours of uninterrupted one-on-one time required for this project.

“Sorry I’m late!” Albus panted as he dropped his satchel on the table. “Rose was having a crisis–” A student two tables over glared, _shush_-ing Albus loudly. Albus looked embarrassed. Scorpius immediately picked up his wand and cast a Bubble of Silence around them.

“Rose was having a crisis?”

“What spell did you just use?” Albus asked. He reached out one hand as if to touch it, but there was nothing there. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Scorpius shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “It’s called the Bubble of Silence,” he said. “My mum developed it when I would get upset when I was little. It’s a combination of _Silencio_ and _Protego._” Albus was silent. “It’s not harmful,” Scorpius promised. “It just means no one outside the Bubble can hear us, even though we can still hear them.”

“That’s fucking brilliant,” Albus breathed, face lighting up. He demanded Scorpius teach him the incantation, and they sat in silence while Albus tried several times to put it up and take it back down. He was smart and it didn’t take him long to have mastered the spell – the happy, pleased smile he gave Scorpius when he’d successfully cast it lodged in Scorpius’s throat. He forced himself to smile back and direct the conversation towards their Transfiguration project. So much time in close proximity to Albus Potter couldn’t be good for his heart.

***

Scorpius and Elinor were taking advantage of one of the last afternoons when it would be warm enough to sit outside by the lake. Ostensibly they were doing their homework, and they each had their books spread around them, but the books had yet to be opened. Instead, Scorpius was casting idle colour charms on different blades of grass, manipulating them into little rainbow braids and mats, while Elinor sketched the Great Lake. They were sitting closer to the far side, under a copse of trees; it was a bit of a walk to get to their spot, but it was always empty, which was what kept them coming back.

With a sigh, Scorpius dropped his wand and lay back on the grass. Elinor glanced at him, tracking the movement, then turned to face him completely.

“Are you alright? You look awfully pale.”

Scorpius gestured to himself. “I’m always awfully pale.”

“Paler than usual,” Elinor amended. “Kind of pinched.”

Scorpius shrugged. “Just hungry, I guess. I didn’t eat much at breakfast. I felt nauseous when I woke up this morning.”

Elinor frowned. “Weren’t you feeling sick yesterday, too?”

Scorpius shook his head, letting his eyes close. The sun was enjoyably warm, but too bright. “No, I had a headache. But it went away after a few hours.”

“Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey.”

Scorpius dragged his eyes back open, squinting at Elinor. “What would she be able to do? She’d probably tell me that I ate too much dessert last night.”

“You barely ate anything last night,” Elinor countered. Her voice took on a teasing lilt. “You were too busy staring at the Gryffindor table.”

Scorpius groaned. “_Elinor._”

“_Scorpius,_” she mocked. Then she laughed. “You were! What’s the verdict, anyway? How’s it been working with the love of your life?”

“He’s not the love of my–” Scorpius cut himself off, huffing out a breath. “It’s been fine. We’re making good progress on the project.”

“You and I both know I wasn’t asking about the _project._”

“What do you want me to tell you, El?” Scorpius pulled himself into a sitting position, curling his arms around his knees. “That we snogged in the Restricted Section and now he’s my boyfriend?”

“Only if it’s the truth.”

Scorpius scoffed. “It’s not.”

“I know,” she said. “You wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret from me if it were, I don’t think.”

“There’s nothing to say, anyway. He’s still gorgeous and funny and smart, and completely uninterested in me, so.” Scorpius shrugged.

“You know what I’m going to say–”

“The only reason you think he likes me back is because you’re my best friend,” Scorpius interrupted. “You’re contractually obligated to believe that everyone has feelings for me. It’s in the job description.”

Elinor huffed. “That’s not true,” she said. When Scorpius opened his mouth to argue again, she spoke over him. “But I’m dropping it! This is me dropping it! I won’t bring it up again,” she promised. She glanced sideways at Scorpius. “But I still think you should tell him how you feel.”

Scorpius couldn’t help laughing at that. “As if.”

Elinor sighed.

***

On Saturday morning, Scorpius woke up headachey and nauseous for the fourth day in a row. The queasiness came and went, but had left him picking at his food and dodging Elinor’s worried glances for days. He suspected that the lack of food was actually making the nausea worse, but he couldn’t bring himself to choke down most of the food they were serving in the Great Hall – all he wanted were things that were extremely spicy and salty. The headache was a constant pressure at his temples that no pain potion had yet relieved, and – Scorpius groaned as he leveraged himself out of bed – now his back was hurting too, a tight ache in his neck and shoulders.

Maybe a hot shower would help, Scorpius thought, hastily grabbing a change of clothes from his trunk. He’d been planning on skipping a shower in order to get to the Great Hall before he had to meet Albus, but given his appetite lately, it was probably a better use of his time to wash than to sit alone at the Slytherin table and pick at his food.

In the shower, Scorpius turned the water as hot as he could stand and let it beat against his back while he soaped the rest of his body. His cock was half-hard, as it often was when he woke up, and he indulged the idea of wanking for a brief moment before pushing the thought away. He didn’t really have the time, but more importantly, lately whenever he masturbated he imagined Albus – fucking him, sucking him, even just kissing with their clothes off while they stroked each other’s cocks. He was going to spend the whole day with Albus working on their Transfiguration project, and he wouldn’t be able to act normally around his partner if he’d gotten off to him that morning – it was already bad enough that he’d done it at all.

Albus had missed class on Thursday, so Scorpius made an extra copy of his notes and tucked them into his bag before he left the Common Room. On the way, he ducked into the Great Hall and grabbed a scone, but he’d barely eaten half of it when he reached the library. He Vanished it without regret and went inside, passing the librarian’s desk without a second glance, all his attention focused on finding Albus.

Scorpius was a few minutes early, but Albus was already there, bent inquisitively over an ancient looking tome, even more stacked on the table beside him. He looked up when he saw Scorpius approach, casting the Bubble of Silence spell as if he’d been using it for years.

“Hey,” he said, once the spell was set and Scorpius was settling down across from him. “So, I pulled all these books for us to start from.” Albus nodded at the stack. “I don’t know how useful they’re going to be – this one’s mostly hogwash so far – but at least they’ll be easy to skim while we wait for our brains to wake up.” Albus grinned, big and genuine in a way that made Scorpius’s heart flip.

“Good plan,” he said, then cleared his throat. “I can, um– start with any of them, then?”

Albus pushed the stack in his direction. “Go ahead.”

Scorpius grabbed the next book and began flipping through it. He was surprised that Albus had already found them books, although he shouldn’t have been – Albus was a great partner, prompt and efficient in his work and naturally talented at Transfiguration. As if Scorpius had needed another reason to like him, now he got a front row seat to how intelligent Albus Potter was multiple times each week.

Scorpius was settling into a groove – notebook and quill ready beside him, the pleasant silence of the library relaxing him and soothing his headache – when Albus snickered.

Scorpius looked up. “What?”

Albus shook his head. “Nothing, sorry – I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Twenty minutes later it happened again. Albus snorted, derisively, and muttered, “Merlin’s sake.”

“Something interesting?”

“No, nothing– it’s just.” Albus blew out a breath so strong it made the tips of his hair flutter. “Listen to this. _Elemental properties need not be taken into consideration in object transfiguration or transmutation, as they are Muggle qualities important only to their pseudo-science._” He shook his head. “Psuedo-science? In comparison to what, Arithmancy? Not to mention they’re just plain wrong, the research we’ve already done is proof enough of that.”

“It’s certainly an outdated viewpoint,” Scorpius agreed.

“This book isn’t even that old, though,” Albus argued, flipping through to find the publication date. “Look at that – 1982. That’s less than fifty years ago.”

“You should make a note of it,” Scorpius said. “Perhaps we could include that in our paper? It would be more anecdotal, but it could be interesting as context for why this is even a question that needs to be researched, when so many other areas of Transfiguration have been studied extensively.”

Albus lit up. “That’s a great idea!”

Scorpius coloured. “We’ll have to check that it’s alright with Professor MacMillan.”

“I’m sure it will be.” Albus waved off his concern. “I mean, as long as we still include all of the sections he wants us to have, more information can’t be a bad thing, right?”

“I suppose not,” Scorpius said.

***

The third book Albus tried had proven more helpful than the first two – at least, he’d had fewer snide comments to make about it – and Scorpius had become absorbed in his reading. He hadn’t realised how much time had passed until he heard the noise of a group of students sitting at the next table over. No need for them to sit so close, Scorpius thought, but he looked up to see that all the other tables were occupied.

Across from him, Albus stretched, twisting his arms above his head and cracking his neck. It made the lean musculature of his shoulders pop, and Scorpius pulled at his own collar, suddenly hot.

“I didn’t realise it was so late,” Albus said, looking at his watch. “Crap, we missed lunch.”

Scorpius opened his mouth to say that he wasn’t very hungry anyway, then shut it when he realised that, for the first time in days, he actually wanted to eat. “I guess we were too busy reading.”

Albus shut his book, and Scorpius’s heart jumped, wondering if the end of their day had come so quickly, but then–

“Do you want to move outside?” Albus asked. “I want to keep working, but I need to get out of the library. We can stop by the kitchens on the way if you like, get some sandwiches to take with us?”

Scorpius agreed. Albus led them to the kitchens – Scorpius had always known their vague location, but had never located the door – and procured two thick cheese sandwiches. Scorpius bit into his as he followed Albus up to the main floor, marveling at his renewed hunger. His head had stopped hurting also, he realised, although his shoulders still ached, probably thanks to the past several hours spent hunched over reading. Albus lead them to one of the lesser-used courtyards, spelling the leaves off a stone table.

It had once had two benches, but one of them had crumbled, so Scorpius and Albus had to sit next to each other. Scorpius hoped his blush wasn’t too noticeable. Albus’s proximity was making his heart race and his pulse thunder in his ears; Scorpius fancied he could feel Albus’s body heat all along his right side. All he wanted to do was lean over and rest his head on Albus’s shoulder, shift a few inches so their legs were pressed against each other – but he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Albus didn’t like him back, after all. Albus probably didn’t even like men.

Albus had got out his notebook, but was fiddling with the cover. “Is this alright with you? I mean, we can go back to the library if you want – I know it’s a bit cold–”

“It’s fine,” Scorpius said in a rush. There was a bit of a chill to the air, but it was hardly noticeable with the sun high above them. No way was he going to trade sitting beside Albus in an empty courtyard for returning to the crowded library and a whole table between them. It wasn’t like his relationship with Albus would ever be what he dreamed of, but there wasn’t any harm in enjoying moments like this that made it easier to pretend, right?

“It gets so hot in the library,” Albus said. He was facing Scorpius as he said it, and the way he turned pushed their bodies even closer together. Scorpius’s heart pounded. Albus’s cheeks looked a little pink, probably from the cold.

“It does,” Scorpius agreed, mouth dry.

“Yeah,” Albus breathed. Was it Scorpius’s imagination, or was Albus staring at his lips?

Albus coughed, turning away to reach for his book. When he settled back down, there were a few more inches between them.

Scorpius frowned as he got his own book out of his bag. Definitely his imagination.

***

Albus and Scoripus had parted ways in the main hall, Albus going back up to the Gryffindor common room and Scorpius heading towards the dungeons. He’d told Elinor he would go to dinner with her and Niles. He doubted he would be hungry – the sandwich from lunch felt like lead in his stomach – but he wanted to catch up and socialise with his friends after spending most of the day with Albus.

It had been wonderful, but Scorpius had been wound tight the whole time, worrying about everything he said, over-analysing words before they left his mouth. He’d been holding himself rigidly, too, fearful that if he let down his guard he’d find himself slumping into Albus. As a result, his back hurt worse than ever.

Dizziness overtook Scorpius as he descended the stairs into the dungeons. Usually the air in these corridors was refreshingly cool, even in the summer, but Scorpius felt hot. Perhaps too much time in the sun, he thought as he braced himself on the wall, pausing for a minute to press his forehead to the stone, hoping it would stop his head from spinning. He hadn’t cast a sun protection charm even though he knew he burned easily – the late September sun had seemed weak, but perhaps he should have?

He didn’t know if he’d be able to make it to dinner after all, Scorpius thought, aware that he was sliding down the wall but powerless to stop it. The nausea had returned with force, and he curled in on himself, clutching his stomach. He needed to get to his room, he needed to lie down, he thought, but before he could drag himself to his feet, a wave of pain overtook him and everything went black.

***

Scorpius was aware of the scent of lavender and the sound of soft voices. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and his skin was tacky with sweat, reminding him of the days he’d spent in bed when he’d caught Phoenix Fever as a child. With effort, he opened his eyes, then immediately squeezed them shut again, the bright whiteness of his surroundings bringing his headache back with an insistent throb.

“Scorpius!”

That was Elinor.

“Mr Malfoy.” Madam Pomfrey, Scorpius presumed, although he hadn’t spent enough time in the Hospital Wing to be familiar with her voice. “How are you feeling?”

Scorpius opened his eyes as little as he could. Through the squint, he could see Elinor sitting at the foot of his bed, while Pomfrey hovered over him.

“My head,” he rasped, throat dusty-dry. “It hurts. The light…”

Pomfrey traced her wand in an arc over the bed, and immediately the light dimmed. Scorpius opened his eyes fully, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Of course.” Pomfrey nodded. “Your head hurts, Mr Malfoy. Anything else?”

“My throat. My stomach. My back. I kind of feel terrible all over.”

Pomfrey grabbed a glass from the bedside table and filled it. Scorpius took it with shaky hands, somewhat comforted that at least he was trusted to handle his drink himself. Then he dropped it, drenching himself in water.

Elinor watched with worried eyes as Pomfrey cleaned the mess, then refilled the glass and helped him drink a few sips. But she could only hold her tongue for so long.

“I told you you should have come to the Hospital Wing earlier!” she said crossly. “Maybe then I wouldn’t have found you passed out outside the common room!”

Scorpius looked between her and Pomfrey, and from the nurse’s expression he could see that Elinor was telling the truth.

“I wasn’t feeling that badly before,” he said, voice still frail. It was true – he’d hardly been nauseous at all that day, he’d even eaten something for lunch. It was only after he’d parted ways with Albus that he’d begun feeling sick.

Pomfrey was wearing an interesting expression, a frown that hovered between concerned and disappointed. “You’ve seen that Mr Malfoy is alright, as promised, Miss Nott,” she said. “Now I must insist that you go down to dinner.” When Elinor opened her mouth to protest, Pomfrey stopped her with a raised hand. “You can come back to see him after you eat,” she promised, “but for now I need to speak to Mr Malfoy alone.”

Elinor didn’t look happy about it, but she did go, sending Scorpius a baleful look on the way out. As the door to the Hospital Wing thudded shut behind her, foreboding curled in Scorpius’s gut. He didn’t like the look on Madam Pomfrey’s face, now – it was too soft, like she was preparing to break terrible news.

He tried to sit up a bit more in the bed, unwilling to face whatever she had to tell him lying down.

“Mr Malfoy,” Pomfrey said, voice exceedingly gentle. “What do you know about Veela?”

“Oh, buggering fuck,” said Scorpius.

He remembered being twelve and home for the summer, still buzzing from the excitement of seeing his parents after a whole year away at school. He’d been peppering them with stories, constantly, everything he could remember from his first year at Hogwarts. When they’d sat him down and asked him for a moment of his time, his stomach had plummeted.

_You have Veela blood on both sides, Scorpius._ He still remembered the fear and confusion that had gathered in his stomach. The reassurances that it probably wouldn’t amount to anything, and the pamphlet on symptoms of Veela presentation that his mum had handed him just in case. The way she’d stroked his hair that night as she sat on the side of his bed, promising him that nothing was going to change.

He hadn’t thought about it much in the years since. He knew Veela presentation began at sixteen, and when he’d turned sixteen – then seventeen – without incident, he’d assumed he was safe. But as soon as Pomfrey said it, the list he’d read and re-read that summer came to the front of his mind. Strange dreams – check. Headaches – check. Nausea and lack of appetite – not specifically mentioned, but made plenty of sense in context. Pain in the back and shoulders – that would be because of the fucking _wings._

Scorpius shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. “That’s what this is, isn’t it?” he asked, looking at Pomfrey. “I’m presenting as a Veela.”

She looked relieved. “So you know, then.”

“My parents told me – warned me, that they both had Veela blood in their families, so there was a chance I might…” Scorpius couldn’t bring himself to say it again. “I didn’t think I really would, though. I mean, I didn’t realise that’s what…” He trailed off, at a loss for words, and bit his lip.

Pomfrey Summoned a notepad and quill, suddenly all business. “I took the liberty of running a few diagnostic spells, and– well. I’m afraid that is really the only explanation. You said that your back has been hurting?” Scorpius nodded. “For how long would you say that’s been going on?”

“Maybe the last week?” Scorpius guessed. “I don’t know, it only got really bad recently. I thought it was being caused by stress about seventh year.”

“The pain in your back and shoulders is one of the most common signs of Veela presentation,” Madam Pomfrey said. “The growth of wings being one of the most drastic changes in your physiology. Your other symptoms – headaches and nausea, Miss Nott mentioned?” Scorpius nodded in confirmation. “Those symptoms are not as common for Veela _presentation,_ but general weakness and fatigue is to be expected.”

Scorpius slumped back on his pillows, exhaustion hitting him like a crushing weight. He wanted to go to sleep. He wanted his parents. He really didn’t want to be having this conversation right now with Madam Pomfrey.

Sighing heavily, Scorpius turned to look at her. “So how much longer is this going to go on?” He asked. “Are there potions I can take? Will I have to stay in the Hospital Wing?”

“Well.” Pomfrey fidgeted with her notebook, her gaze dropping to the edge of the bed before she brought it back to meet Scorpius’s eyes. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

***

Scorpius’s parents arrived at Hogwarts close to midnight. They had been traveling in Italy, staying at a remote villa in Tuscany, and as such it had taken some time for McGonagall’s owl to reach them, and then more time for them to arrange transportation to Scotland. Scorpius had begged Madam Pomfrey to let him see them as soon as they arrived; he doubted he would have been able to sleep even if he hadn’t been waiting for them. As it was, he’d been staring at the ceiling in his private room off the Hospital Wing, trying not to panic, for what felt like hours when he heard the knock on the door.

He bolted upright, the movement making his head throb, but the pain was forgotten when he saw his mother’s face peeking around the door.

“Mum!”

“Oh, Scorpius!” Astoria rushed to his side, his father right behind her. She sat on the bed and pulled Scorpius into her arms, and tears sprang to his eyes. For a few minutes he could do nothing but cry while his mother held him and his father stroked his back. It was like he hadn’t let the full reality of the situation sink in until now, but it was alright, because at least he didn’t have to face it alone.

“Shh, shh,” Astoria soothed him, kissing the top of his head like she did when he was a child. “It’s going to be alright, my darling.”

“It’s not going to be alright!” Scorpius cried, his voice wet with tears and muffled by her shoulder. “I’m a f-f-fucking Veela!”

“We’re here for you, Scorpius,” Draco said. He’d sat down on the other side of the bed, leaving Scorpius sandwiched between his parents – a position that, in any other situation, he would have argued he was too old for. “We’re here for you, whatever you need.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” Scorpius moaned, throwing himself back against the pillows. “It’s– it’s started. The most we can do now is manage the symptoms. Even if I’d caught them earlier, there wouldn’t be anything to be done.” He sniffled. “I feel so fucking stupid.”

“Don’t say that,” Astoria chastised, frowning.

“I knew all the warning signs and I ignored them,” Scorpius said, aware he was whinging and unable to stop. “I thought my shoulders were hurting because I was stressed about NEWTs!”

“There’s no reason this has to change anything,” Draco said fiercely, squeezing Scorpius’s shoulder. “We can get you potions to manage the pain, figure out what you need to make this more bearable. It’s going–”

“McGonagall didn’t tell you in the letter, did she,” Scorpius said sourly.

His parents wore twin expressions of confusion. “Tell us what, darling?” his mother asked.

“It’s not just the...presentation,” Scorpius said, the word bitter in his mouth. He buried his face in his hands, embarrassment overtaking him at having to explain this to his parents. “Ihaveamate.”

From the silence, he could guess that his parents were having one of those silent conversations. Finally his father spoke. “Could you repeat that, Scorpius?”

Scorpius took a deep breath, trying to stop the pounding of his heart. “I have a mate,” he spit out, voice sharp. “That’s what’s really making me sick. The back pain and the weird dreams, that’s because I’m presenting, but that’s all manageable and would go away on its own within a few months anyway. But the headaches, the nausea – the way I passed out…that’s because I have a mate, and I’m not bonded to them, and my body goes into protest mode whenever I spend too long away from them. And in order to bond them, I’d have to have sex with them.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, tears and embarrassment welling up under the surface. Scorpius and his parents had always been close, by virtue of his being an only child and his parents’ obnoxious devotion to one another. There was nothing he could say or do that would make his parents stop loving him. He was secure in their support. But still, there were things they didn’t talk about – things that were too painful, or too personal for Draco and Astoria’s pure-blood propriety.

Scorpius had never told his parents about his feelings for Albus because it hardly seemed necessary. Nothing was ever going to come of it. But now he would have to, and the mortification of it was hot and wriggly in his belly.

“Oh,” his mother said softly. She raised one hand, pushing his hair off his face. Scorpius wished he were still small enough to curl up in her lap.

His father’s voice was low, the words measured, like he was trying to figure out what to say. “You don’t seem very happy about that.”

Scorpius shook his head, a watery laugh escaping him. “That’s because I’m not.”

He opened his eyes in time to see Astoria casting a beseeching look towards Draco over Scorpius’s shoulder. Her gaze, when it landed on him, was hesitant. “Mates are meant to be something special,” she said. “I know it probably doesn’t feel like that right now, maybe it isn’t someone you’d ever imagined yourself with, but...”

Scorpius shook his head violently, burying his face in his hands. He couldn’t stand to listen to his parents verbally tip-toe around the topic for one more second. “It’s Albus Potter,” he said. “Albus Potter is my mate. And the reason I’m not happy about it is because I’ve liked him for ages. And now the only reason he’ll be with me is because he’s being forced to by my stupid fucking Veela biology.”

***

By the time Madam Pomfrey summoned Albus to the Hospital Wing on Sunday, Scorpius was on such a cocktail of Calming Draughts and pain potions that he felt dizzy. He’d never been so grateful for his parents and their get-it-done attitudes. They’d taken turns sitting with him through the night and morning, repeatedly promising that everything would be okay, while at the same time arranging meetings with McGonagall, Pomfrey, Scorpius’s Head of House, and St Mungos’ foremost Veela specialist. By Sunday afternoon, they’d concocted a plan that would allow Scorpius to get the medical care he needed and complete his Hogwarts schooling on time, just like he would have before he’d presented as a Veela.

Unfortunately, his parents’ determination and logistical planning skills could not change the fact that Scorpius’s mate was Albus Potter.

Veela mates were a tricky thing, Scorpius heard from Madam Pomfrey, and then from Healer Hughes, the severe older person who had come from St Mungos. There were many theories, but no one was really sure what caused Veela to find their mates. Unfortunately the one thing that all the experts agreed on was the necessity of the Veela and their chosen mate bonding.

The symptoms of separation from his mate were what Scorpius had already been experiencing, although Healer Hughes hypothesised they might get even worse now that Scorpius consciously knew what was happening. In order to keep Scorpius’s new Veela side happy, he needed to see Albus every day, and be in close proximity to him for as much time as possible. Spotting him across the Great Hall or sitting next to each other in class for an hour a few times a week, as they had been doing, was not going to cut it. Scorpius could expect extreme withdrawal pains, Hughes told him, if he went more than a day without seeing Albus. Conversely – and unfairly, Scorpius felt – the more time he spent in Albus’s presence, the more painful being away from him would be. That was why he’d collapsed in the dungeons despite having spent the day with his mate: his body and all his new, wonky Veela hormones had got too accustomed to Albus’s proximity, and being abruptly separated from him had sent them into overdrive.

Scorpius was doomed to spend the rest of the year – the rest of his _life_ – tethered to Albus’s side. The only way to be free of the need for proximity would be bonding, something Scorpius refused to even consider.

“Is there any way to break a bond?” he’d asked Hughes. “Is it at all possible that my Veela instincts will choose another mate?”

After hemming and hawing, Hughes had admitted that there was a possibility the match was transference, caused by Scorpius’s newly awakened Veela traits needing something to latch onto. “It’s rare,” they’d warned, “but it does happen. If it is transference, the match will fade out on its own within six months to a year. But you shouldn’t count on that happening.”

Scorpius had nodded, told Hughes he understood, and then promptly decided to ignore what they’d said.

Bad enough that he was a Veela. He couldn’t also deal with Albus Potter being his mate. No, this was all a mistake, and it would blow over soon enough.

In the meantime, unfortunately, arrangements had to be made.

Scorpius felt better as soon as Albus entered the room. He’d been woozy from potions and lack of sleep – feeling generally shit – but as soon as Albus opened the door to the private room, Scorpius’s head cleared. He didn’t feel feverish or dizzy; in fact, he felt more alert than he’d been in days. The abrupt switch was jarring.

Albus looked between Scorpius, propped up into a sitting position with a mound of pillows and wearing standard Hogwarts issue pyjamas, and Madam Pomfrey balancing on the very front edge of the seat beside Scorpius’s bed. He rubbed at his chin, expression confused, and silently took the empty chair.

“What’s going on?” Albus asked, looking at Pomfrey. Then he turned to Scorpius. “Scorpius, are you alright?”

Pomfrey cleared her throat, and Scorpius wished very hard that he didn’t have to be here for this conversation.

“Albus, what do you know about Veela?”

***

“Are you still feeling dizzy? Can I get you anything?”

Scorpius shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

Albus gave him a searching look, but seemed to decide that Scorpius was telling the truth, so he turned back around to continue hanging his clothes in the wardrobe. Since Scorpius had been excused from classes that Monday, he had already moved all of his things from the Slytherin dorms into the new quarters he was sharing with Albus. His parents had helped – fussed and not let him do anything himself, more like – before departing in the afternoon, promising that they were only an owl away if he needed them. Even though it was embarrassing as a seventeen-year-old to have your parents come to school to take care of you, Scorpius was sorry to see them go.

He also wished that he hadn’t let them do _all_ of his unpacking. It would have been nice to have something to occupy himself with now, instead of sitting like a loon and watching Albus, who had been in class all day, arrange his own things.

The very fact that Albus was having to do this – move out of his dorm and into a special room with Scorpius, so that they would be close to each other for no less than ten hours of every day, was absolutely mortifying. Albus had taken it in stride, when Madam Pomfrey had told him that Scorpius was a newly presented Veela and Albus was his mate. He’d listened with a neutral but attentive face as she explained that no one knew what caused the bond between a Veela and their mate, but that it would be very dangerous for Scorpius if they were apart for prolonged periods of time. And then Albus’s face had done something interesting, and rearranged itself into an expression of concern, and Albus had asked, “What can I do?”

It felt, to Scorpius, like a sick parody of everything he wanted. The only small mercy was that Madam Pomfrey had heeded Scorpius’s wishes and not told Albus what bonding would entail. Albus had sat beside him at dinner and left only briefly to pick up his things before returning to their new rooms. He’d even brought Scorpius notes from all the classes he’d missed. If Scorpius had been one for daydreaming, it would have been easy to imagine that Albus was here because he wanted to be, and not because he was obligated to due to Scorpius’s fucked up biology.

On the bright side, Scorpius felt the best he had all week. He’d eaten a full meal at dinner, his stomach calmed by virtue of being near Albus, and his headache had almost completely abated. It was some additional comfort that their room was very nice, including a spacious bedroom and a private bathroom Scorpius was already stressed about using.

Abruptly, Albus turned to face him again. “You’ll tell me if you aren’t feeling well, though, right?” He said. “Because remember, Pomfrey said that ten might not be the magic number – we might have to spend more time together than that. I don’t want you to be pretending you’re okay and then all of a sudden find you passed out in a corridor somewhere.”

Scorpius grimaced. To his chagrin, news of his fainting spell had spread rapidly through the school, although no one seemed to know what had caused it. He supposed it would be common knowledge soon enough – he was now rooming with Albus, and someone might be able to jump to conclusions – but for now he was glad that his problem could stay private.

“I’ll tell you, I promise,” Scorpius said. He hoped that ten hours in their rooms at night, plus classes and meals throughout the day, would be enough to keep the worst of his bond sickness at bay. He didn’t need to take up more of Albus’s time, disrupting his life even further when Albus was already doing so much for him.

“Thank you for this, by the way,” Scorpius added. Albus looked surprised by the words. “I mean, I know this is...a lot to ask, and I really appreciate you going along with it. I know it’s not what you – what either of us would have wanted, given the choice.” Not like this, at least, Scorpius amended privately. Not when Albus was forced to spend time with him to keep him healthy.

“Of course!” Albus blurted out. “Scorpius, you know – you know it wasn’t even a question. Bond sickness sounds terrible. I would never let that happen to you,” he said seriously.

Because he was a good person, Scorpius reflected. Albus was kind, and he and Scorpius had always had a friendly relationship. Not close, not really, but they’d always gotten along. This didn’t mean anything special.

“Still,” Scorpius said. “You’ve had to move rooms. People will be talking; it’s disrupting your life–”

“Not as much as it’s disrupting yours,” Albus interrupted.

Well, he was right about that. Scorpius shrugged.

Albus put down the jumper he was holding and walked around his bed to sit on the edge closest to Scorpius. They still weren’t anywhere close to each other – Scorpius’s bed was between them, with Scorpius still sitting at his desk – but his heart _thump-thumped_ a little harder anyway.

“That reminds me, I’d been wanting to ask. I mean...I’ve been curious about– you don’t have to answer if you’re uncomfortable, of course, but–” Albus took a deep breath. “Did you have any idea? About the Veela thing, I mean? Before Pomfrey told you?”

Scorpius sighed. “Not really. I mean, I knew I hadn’t been feeling well, obviously, but I didn’t know why. My parents did tell me about it, when I was younger,” he said, trying not to be offended by Albus’s surprise.

“Really?”

“Yes. I mean, they had no way of knowing if the genes would turn up in me, obviously. But they told me that the Malfoys had Veela heritage, and the Greengrasses did also, and that it was possible those genes were dormant in me.” Scorpius shrugged. “But that was when I was...eleven? Twelve? And it was all very hypothetical. I hadn’t thought about it in years.”

Albus nodded. “At least you weren’t completely blindsided.”

It had certainly felt like that, but Scorpius supposed that technically he had had some warning. “No, not blindsided.”

“Just…” Albus shifted on the bed, gripping his knees tight enough to pull the fabric. Was he blushing, or was Scorpius imagining things again? “I know this is a weird situation, and we’ve never been super close, but will you let me know if there’s anything I can do to make this easier for you?”

“I already told you I would,” Scorpius said, annoyed.

“Not just letting me know if you’re in pain,” Albus said. “But if there’s something I’m not doing that would make you feel better – tell me, please?”

Scorpius met Albus’s eyes directly for the first time in the conversation. They were bright and earnest, the color unsettlingly gem-like. Albus was a good person, Scorpius reminded himself. He was only doing this out of kindness, the same kindness he would offer anyone. It didn’t have anything to do with Scorpius specifically.

He broke the eye contact, the words coming out soft when he spoke. “I will.”

***

Elinor knocked her knee against his under the table, and Scorpius resisted the urge to flinch. An unfortunate side effect of his new Veela abilities Madam Pomfrey hadn’t warned him about was the way that people besides Albus and his parents touching him had become uncomfortable, verging on unbearable. When Scorpius had brought it up to her at his first weekly check-in – a humiliation that Scorpius was chagrined to hear had been his mother’s idea – she’d told him that it wasn’t common, but also wasn’t surprising.

“Veela are territorial,” she had told him, “and familial connections are very important to them. Being touched by strangers, or even people who you know but are not family, is not something that is welcomed by Veela.” She’d jotted a note down in his chart. “If it becomes too uncomfortable for you to be in situations like the Great Hall where people might touch you by accident, we can look into solutions.”

So far it hadn’t gotten too bad, but Elinor still gave Scorpius a weird look as he closed his book. “What?”

They were sitting in the Slytherin common room, which Scorpius still had access to even though he’d moved out of his dorm. Albus had a study group that evening – he’d invited Scorpius along, but it was for Care of Magical Creatures, a class that Scorpius wasn’t taking, and he didn’t want to draw more attention to himself. Instead, Scorpius had decided to take the opportunity to catch up with Elinor.

Despite having had two classes together that afternoon, and sitting together at dinner, Scorpius’s stomach was starting to act up because the bond was being strained. He glanced at his watch. Only forty-five more minutes before Albus would be back in their room.

“I can’t believe you even have to ask,” Elinor said. When Scorpius stared at her blankly, she rolled her eyes. “Everything! Obviously! We’ve barely spoken since I found you unconscious in the corridor and now you’re rooming with _Albus bloody Potter._”

Scorpius squirmed. “I don’t really want to talk about it.” He’d confessed the Veela situation to Elinor and sworn her to secrecy during one of her visits to the Hospital Wing last weekend. What else was there to say?

Elinor frowned. “If you really don’t want to, that’s fine,” she said. “But it might be good to get some things off your mind. After all, I’m the only one who knows the full story, right?”

Well, Scoripus’s parents knew it all, but he wasn’t about to tell them that Albus slept shirtless and that knowledge was ruining Scorpius’s life (and sleep schedule).

“I don’t know what there is to say,” he said. “It’s just as terrible as you might imagine.”

“Terrible or wonderful?” Elinor asked, a glint in her eye.

“Terrible-wonderful,” Scorpius admitted. “He’s always _there._ But he’s just doing it to be nice, obviously; he doesn’t really want me.”

Elinor _hmm_-ed. Scorpius shook his head, ducking down to get another book out of his bag. The movement sent blood rushing to his head and he sat up abruptly, suddenly very dizzy.

His face must have shown it, because Elinor sat forward in her chair, looking concerned. “Scorpius?”

“I don’t feel so good,” Scorpius whispered. His head swam.

Elinor frowned, her brow furrowed. “Do I need to get Albus?” she asked under her breath. From around the common room, Scorpius felt various eyes on them. He could only imagine what people would say if he followed up fainting outside the Slytherin common room with fainting inside it.

Scorpius carefully inhaled, trying to settle his now-rolling stomach, which had noticed his dizziness and decided to join in. “No, I’ll be alright,” he said. Albus would be back from his study group soon anyway; it wouldn’t be much quicker for Elinor to go fetch him. “I think I’m just gonna head back to my room and lie down.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Elinor said instantly, standing up.

Scorpius shook his head – and ugh, that hurt too. “You don’t have to–”

“Need I remind you again of when I found you _passed out on the ground?_” Elinor asked. Scorpius wanted to argue, tell her that he didn’t want people to stare, but her voice was hard and her eyes flinty. He didn’t have the energy to fight her on this.

Instead, he let her help him put his things back in his bag and lift it onto his shoulder, then followed her out of the common room. Everyone was probably staring at them as they left. Good thing Scorpius was too focused on controlling his nausea to worry about that.

Elinor didn’t say anything when Scorpius’s pace slowed as soon as they left the common room; she just fell back to meet him, casting a nervous glance from the corner of her eye. When he tripped on the second staircase, she caught him by the elbow and hauled him back up to his feet.

“Wait,” Scorpius gasped, using the rail to support himself. Unexpectedly, the staircase moved, and his stomach lurched in protest. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing through it, and only once Elinor tapped his shoulder and whispered, “Scorpius, it’s done,” did he dare to open them.

With effort he pulled himself back to standing. Elinor frowned at him. “I think I should get Albus.”

“No!” Scorpius protested again, wincing at how loud his voice came out. “He’s going to be back from his study group soon.” Elinor made to leave anyway, and Scorpius threw out an arm to stop her. “Please, don’t.”

With an angry sigh, she stomped back down the few steps until she was beside him, then crossed her arms. “Only because you’re my best friend,” she said. Then, after another few stairs, “I’m waiting in your room until Albus gets back.”

By the time they had reached the corridor that housed Scorpius and Albus’s room, Scorpius was feeling better, even walking normally, so he was able to convince Elinor to leave him alone, promising that if Albus didn’t come back soon he would send a Patronus. Just entering the room released some of the tension from Scorpius’s shoulders – as if his weird Veela biology knew that this was a space Albus frequently inhabited, a space they lived in together. He was exhausted, and only managed to drop his bag and kick off his shoes before he crawled into bed, rolling onto his side and breathing deep. He hoped Albus would be back soon.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he heard the door open and Albus entered the room. He knew it was Albus because no one else had the password to their dorm, but also because his whole body relaxed and he found himself rolling onto his back without having consciously decided to do so.

“Scorpius?” Albus came to stand beside the bed, looking down at him with concern. “Are you alright?”

Scorpius nodded sharply, realised he was still a bit nauseous, and pressed one hand over his eyes. “I’m fine.”

The bed shifted as Albus sat down near Scorpius’s hip, and his heart rate accelerated to double-time. “You look pale.”

“I started feeling sick while I was studying with Elinor, so she walked me back up here.”

“Scorpius!” Albus’s voice was so shocked that Scorpius opened his eyes. Albus watched him with an expression of concern. “You should have come and got me.”

“I’m fine,” Scorpius repeated. “I knew you would be back from your study group at half past eight.”

Albus still looked upset. He reached out a hand as if to touch Scorpius, and then curled it into a fist, aborting the gesture. “Are you feeling better now?”

“A bit.” Albus’s presence hadn’t provided the immediate relief that Scorpius had hoped for, but he felt loads better than he had in the dungeons. “I’m sure I’ll be back to normal in the morning.”

Albus’s frown deepened. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better faster?”

Scorpius shrugged, leveraging himself into a sitting position. He’d felt ridiculous reclining while Albus hovered over him. “Nothing that I can think of.”

“What about–” Albus fidgeted, shifting a bit closer. “What if I hugged you?”

All the breath left Scoripus’s lungs. “What?”

“Well, if proximity makes you better, than actually touching has to be good too, right?” Albus wouldn’t meet his eyes. “My aunt is part Veela, and she and my uncle seem to touch a lot...I mean, maybe that’s just them; if you think you’ll be feeling better…”

Albus looked like he was about to get up, and Scorpius realised that Albus thought he was _rejecting_ his offer of a hug.

“Wait!” Albus turned back, eyes wide. “I mean, it’s worth a try, right?” Scorpius said, trying to calm the racing of his heart. “I’m sure it’ll be easier to fall asleep if I’m not feeling so sick.”

“Alright,” Albus breathed. He stood, and Scorpius wondered where he was going; then he sat down farther up the bed, closer to Scorpius, and Scorpius thought, _oh._ He wondered if it was the Veela hormones or his own stupid feelings for Albus that made his brain stop working when they were together. He wondered if the distinction even mattered.

Albus carefully scooted back until he was sat next to Scorpius, leaning against the headboard. He raised one arm to put it over Scorpius’s shoulders. “Is this…?”

“Yes,” Scorpius breathed, and then Albus was holding him. Albus’s arm fell over Scorpius’s shoulders, and suddenly it was all gone – the headache, the nausea, the tension he hadn’t realised had taken hold in all his muscles. Dimly he was aware that Albus was manipulating him, guiding Scorpius’s head to rest on his shoulder and putting a second arm around him, but Scorpius wasn’t aware of any of that.

He closed his eyes, letting himself sink into bliss.

“Good, then?” Albus asked, voice quiet.

Scorpius nodded, as best he was able. “Very good,” he said, surprised at how hoarse his voice came out. With effort, he lifted himself. Albus, from up close, was a lot for his brain to take in and Scorpius stared at him for a long while before he could force himself to speak. “I think I’m fine now?”

“What?”

“My headache’s gone,” Scorpius said vacantly. Albus’s eyes were so green, and they were sharply focused on Scorpius. He wondered what Albus’s hair felt like.

Albus frowned. “You looked pretty bad when I came in,” he said. “It might be a good idea to stay like this a little while longer, just in case?”

Scorpius wasn’t going to argue with that suggestion. He felt more alive than he had in days. “Okay,” he said quietly, and brought his head back down to Albus’s shoulder, hoping it wasn’t obvious that he was sniffing him. “Okay.”

***

Scorpius hadn’t told Albus how much his hugs helped, but Albus figured it out anyway, and so they became integrated into their new routine. It was surprising on its own, to realise they had a routine – Scorpius had lived in the Slytherin dorms for six years and, except for Niles, he’d only had minimal interactions with the other boys. They all went about their business independently, coming back to the same space at night, like planets separately orbiting the same star. You might run into someone brushing their teeth or walk to breakfast together, but he couldn’t have told you what anyone’s regular bedtime or study habits were.

Barely two weeks into living with Albus, and Scorpius knew all of those things. Moreover, his and Albus’s schedules had meshed better than he ever could have imagined. They woke up around the same time and ate breakfast together every day; they both liked to study at night, in their room or in the library, and only stayed up late on the weekends. Studying with Albus was surprisingly fun; he had an especially wicked sense of humor that only came out when reading old textbooks. It made things much easier on Scorpius to have their days be so in synch, as he was only away from Albus for a few hours at a time; he wondered if Albus was arranging it that way on purpose, because he was worried that Scorpius wouldn’t tell him if he was in pain. He tried not to dwell on that too much, though, and instead to focus on his gratitude that he got to know Albus like this at all.

Scorpius was thinking about that – routine – the following week when Albus was at another study group. The noise of the door opening startled him out of his thoughts, and Albus immediately crossed the room to wrap Scorpius in a hug. Scorpius returned it, tightly, and then stepped back to put a bit of space between them; he hadn’t been feeling that bad while Albus was gone, and Albus had taken off his jumper sometime during the evening. His skin was warm through his thin shirt, and Scorpius didn’t trust himself not to do something embarrassing.

Of course he managed to embarrass himself anyway – Albus had just asked him a question, and Scorpius had been distracted staring at his shoulders.

He blinked and refocused his eyes on Albus’s face. “Sorry, what?”

Albus smiled, amused. “I asked if you’d finished your Runes translation.”

“Oh! Yes, I did,” Scorpius said, glancing over his shoulder at his messy desk. “I was starting on the latest worksheet for the Transfiguration project next.”

Albus lit up. “That’s all I have left to do as well! Shall we work on it together?”

Scorpius, swallowing, nodded. On top of living with Albus and being the subject of his kindness and concern – only because of Scorpius’s rare medical condition, he reminded himself multiple times a day – they were still partnered for their Transfiguration project as well. And of course, Albus was brilliant at Transfiguration, an efficient worker, and a lot of fun to do a group project with. Because that was how Scorpius’s life was going, these days.

Albus smiled at him again, then went back to his side of the room to take off his shoes and get his Transfiguration book. He set up on his bed, notes laid out around him, then looked up at Scorpius. “Did you need to finish something else before we start?”

“N–no.” Scorpius shook his head. He could casually study on Albus’s bed and not think about all the other reasons he wished he was in it, right?

He gathered his books and brought them to Albus’s bed, trying not to feel self-conscious as he crawled closer to the middle. Albus had that happy little expression, and Merlin, Scorpius was fucked. Had Albus always smiled at him this much, or was he imagining things? Or was Scorpius’s presence becoming so annoying that Albus had to keep a smile plastered on to hide his true feelings?

They made it through half of the Transfiguration worksheet – checking on their research so far and setting up the next questions they should tackle – before Albus raised his arms over his head, yawning. Scorpius quickly averted his eyes, blood rushing to his face.

“I think I’m ready to call it a night,” Albus said.

Scorpius nodded. “Yeah. Um. Me too.”

“Do you mind if I use the bathroom first, or…”

“You go ahead,” Scorpius said.

It was only after Albus had closed the door to the en suite that Scorpius realised he was still sitting on Albus’s bed.

He got up quickly, rushing to change into his pyjamas while Albus was out of the room. In his old dorm, he wouldn’t have cared if his roommates saw him changing as long as he still had his pants on, and neither would they, but with Albus the thought sent his heart racing. He was putting away his books when Albus came out of the bathroom, a vision in grey jersey. Scorpius’s heart thumped uncomfortably.

Albus went back to his bed, sitting against the headboard. He shifted in place a few times before he held out one arm. Scorpius stared at him. Albus half-lowered his arm. “You’ll sleep better if we’re in contact before you go to bed, right?”

Scorpius’s mouth was dry. “I will,” he said shakily.

“Then do you want to…?”

Truth be told, Scorpius would have slept fine if he’d gone to sleep right then. They hadn’t been apart much that day, plus Albus had hugged him earlier and then spent an hour working on homework with him. His stomach was settled and his head was clear; the only Veela-related pain he had was the familiar ache in his shoulders.

But if Albus was offering to hug him _in his bed,_ Scorpius wasn’t fool enough to say no.

“Sure.” Walking around his bed to get to Albus’s felt like crossing the green to get to the Forbidden Forest. When Scorpius sat down beside him, hips and thighs lined up, Albus slouched down a little further onto the bed. Scorpius matched him.

He felt awkward as he let Albus pull him into a hug, nervously placing his own hand around Albus’s waist. Breathing felt risky. He was afraid Albus would realise what he was doing and tell Scorpius to leave.

After a moment, Albus spoke. “Is it weird? The Veela thing?”

Scorpius shifted, sliding down farther on the bed. “What do you mean?” Albus scooted down so their eyes were still level.

“Like, I know there’s the separation symptoms when we’re far apart. But do you feel different in any other way?”

“My shoulders hurt,” Scorpius said. “All the time.”

Albus raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Pomfrey says it’s the wings.”

“You’re going to have _wings_?”

Scorpius winced. “No, probably not. Or not permanent ones, at least. But something’s happening back there.” He wiggled his shoulder blades, and Albus laughed. He tugged at Scorpius a bit, rearranging them so they were more comfortable.

They were horizontal on the bed now, both their heads resting on Albus’s pillow. Scorpius’s heart raced.

“But nothing besides that?” Albus asked.

“No, otherwise I feel the same.”

“That’s so strange,” Albus breathed. “That all this biological change can be happening inside you, and you don’t feel any different.”

Scorpius nodded. Sometime during their conversation he had relaxed and started leaning on Albus. Surely it must be uncomfortable – surely Albus wanted him to move. But he didn’t say anything, just repositioned one of his hands to rub between Scorpius’s shoulder blades.

His Veela instincts _purred._ There was a light, bubbly feeling in his chest, even as his limbs grew heavier with contentment. Scorpius realised that, for the first time, his Veela side was making him feel _good._ He’d thought that the flip side of the nausea was feeling normal, going back to neutral when he was around Albus. He hadn’t known he could feel like this.

“That’s– nice,” Scorpius gasped, as Albus began to massage one of his shoulders. _Nice_ didn’t begin to cover it, truly, but Albus seemed to know what he meant.

“Yeah?” he asked, pulling Scorpius a little closer.

Scorpius was half on top of him now, one leg slipping between Albus’s thighs. All he could do was nod. “Mmm-hmm.”

Continuing to massage Scorpius’s shoulder, Albus ran his free hand down his back, tracing the bumps of his spine. When he reached the bottom of Scorpius’s shirt, he played with the hem; the sensation of Albus’s bare skin against his own was like the softest fire, and Scorpius wanted him to take it off; wanted to be skin against skin, wanted to kiss, to press against Albus and make them both feel good the way he _knew_ he could–

They couldn’t. Scorpius wrenched himself upright with a gasp, so that he was kneeling over Albus. Below him, Albus looked flushed and confused.

“Scorpius?”

“I need to go to bed,” Scorpius gasped. “I mean, bed– I’ll be able to sleep fine now, I think. Thank you.” He scrambled off the bed, probably looking ridiculous, and realized belatedly that he was hard. “Just– brushing my teeth,” he said, rushing across the room and slamming the door to the en suite.

His heart pounded as he leaned back against the door. Merlin’s sake, what had he been _thinking?_ He’d been moments away from ripping off Albus’s clothes and begging him for – well, not to _fuck_ him, but to touch his dick at least. Albus had even seemed like he might want to. But they couldn’t, because then they’d be bonded, and Albus didn’t want that. He probably didn’t even want Scorpius – it was just the weird Veela hormones, sending off _come-hither_ signals because they’d chosen Albus as his stupid mate.

Stupid, stupid. Scorpius banged his head dully against the door. It was all so _stupid._

His erection was throbbing and insistent, proudly tenting the front of his pyjamas. He couldn’t go back out there like this.

Scorpius hadn’t felt comfortable wanking the past few weeks, living with Albus, but the sense memory of Albus pressed against his body was still fresh in his mind, and the temptation was too good to resist. He slid his hand into his pants and pulled himself off imagining what might have happened if he’d stayed in the bed. Albus might have taken off Scorpius’s shirt and touched his chest; his leg had been between Albus’s, and it would have been so easy to line themselves up and get carried away– Albus would have arched beneath him, his hair drenched with sweat, his mouth falling open–

As soon as he came, Scorpius realised he’d left his wand in the other room, lying on his bedside table. He double-checked that the door was locked and went to wash his hands, then grabbed a handful of loo roll to wipe off his dick and the mess he’d made on the front of his sleep trousers. Scorpius hoped Albus hadn’t heard him – he’d tried to be quiet, but he’d also been right next to the door, and it was hard to focus on the sounds he was making when he was so turned on.

Luckily when he left the room, the lights were off and Albus was asleep on his side with his back to Scorpius’s bed. As he climbed under the covers, Scorpius saw Albus shift, and wondered if he was really asleep after all. He drifted off with an uncomfortable ache in his chest that had nothing to do with his Veela instincts.

***

The next morning Scorpius woke up to the sound of the shower in the en suite. Blearily reaching for his wand and casting a _Tempus,_ he saw that it was just past eight and remembered Albus telling him yesterday that he was meeting some friends for an early morning Quidditch match. Albus had expressed concern that Scorpius would be alright if they were apart the whole day, but Scorpius assured him that he would be. After the previous night, he was almost confident that he’d been telling the truth; either way, his residual embarrassment about wanking over Albus the previous night kept him in bed as the shower shut off and he heard the flush of the toilet and the quieter noise of the bathroom sink.

Scorpius hastily closed his eyes as Albus came out of the bathroom, listening as Albus crept around their room, staying quiet so as not to wake Scorpius. As soon as he’d gone, shutting the door quietly behind him, Scorpius opened his eyes.

There was no way he’d be able to fall back asleep _now._ Last night exhaustion had gotten the better of him, but now that he’d rested, all he could think about was the previous night. Merlin, he’d been on top of Albus. Scorpius had almost _kissed_ him. There was no way Albus hadn’t noticed that he’d been hard, and then Scorpius had to make it worse by not-at-all-subtly running into the bathroom and wanking about it. Fuck his life, honestly.

But that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was that Scorpius had liked it. He’d _really_ liked it. It wasn’t that surprising, in some ways – Scorpius had been mooning over Albus for years, and he was seventeen; of course he would react to being so close to the object of his affections – but the Veela side of him had liked it, too.

This whole time, he’d been thinking of his Veela instincts as something to be placated; an inconvenience he had to accommodate in order to live his life. He hadn’t thought that there could be any positives to being part-Veela. But the Veela side of him preened when Albus touched him. It filled him with a soft, suffuse warmth, made him calmer than he could remember being since he was a little kid climbing into his parents’ bed in the pre-dawn light. The Veela side of Scorpius wanted Albus, desperately, because it wanted him to keep feeling like _that_ – content and relaxed – and for the first time, Scorpius found himself in agreement with those instincts.

With a groan, Scorpius dragged himself out of bed. If he was awake, he might as well shower before he met his parents. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and normally Scorpius would have been sleeping in and then heading to Honeydukes with Elinor and Niles. 

Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey had other plans for him. She was taking advantage of the castle being mostly empty to do a thorough check-up on Scorpius. His parents would be coming too, for an update on what was going on. It was a small consolation that afterwards, they had gotten special permission to take him to lunch at his favorite restaurant in Edinburgh. Scorpius had been looking forward to it all week.

He pulled on jeans and a nice enough jumper and made a brief stop in the Great Hall for a cup of tea and half a scone – he couldn’t tell if his appetite had disappeared because he was nervous or because he wasn’t eating with Albus – before he made his way to the Hospital Wing.

When he got there, his parents hadn’t arrived yet. Pomfrey brought him into the same private room he’d woken up in after passing out in the dungeons. She had him sit on an examination table and looked him over with an appraising eye.

“You look better than I was expecting,” she told him. Then, narrowing her eyes, “Have you bonded with Mr Potter?”

Scorpius’s face burned. “No!”

Pomfrey _hmphed,_ taking out her wand and beginning to cast at him. “What symptoms have you been experiencing the past week?”

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “My back still hurts, but my appetite has been a lot better. Not as much nausea or dizziness. Well…” He trailed off, remembering the evening he’d been studying with Elinor, and of course Pomfrey picked up on it immediately.

“Well?”

“There was one time where I didn’t see Albus for most of the day and I started feeling really sick after dinner,” Scorpius said. “But as soon as I was back with Albus I felt better.”

Pomfrey picked up a clipboard, marking off a few things with a quill. “Being in the same room as him was enough to alleviate your symptoms?”

Scorpius blushed again. “Well…”

Madam Pomfrey narrowed her eyebrows. “Mr Malfoy.”

“He held me for a bit,” Scorpius admitted. Merlin, he was probably the colour of a tomato. “After. And that made me feel all the way better. But even just being in the same room as him really helped!”

“Hmmm.” Pomfrey cast a few more spells at him, making more markings on her parchment as she went. “Is that something you’ve been doing frequently?”

“What?”

“Hugging, physical contact.”

Scorpius coughed. “A bit.”

Pomfrey put down the clipboard and met Scorpius’s eyes, gaze steady. “Mr Malfoy,” she said. “I understand that you’ve decided not to bond with Mr Potter, even though it is against the recommendations for Veela health–”

“But it could still be a transference bond,” Scorpius interrupted. “Right? Just my Veela instincts latching on to someone–”

“That is _possible,_ but not _probable,_” Pomfrey said. “So I am discussing as if this were a legitimate Veela bond. And physical contact between Veela and their mates is very good for both – that is indisputable. However, in a situation in which you are choosing _not_ to bond, I would advise against doing it excessively.”

The blood drained from Scorpius’s face. “What?”

“Between Veela and their mates, physical contact, including sex, serves as a way to create and reinforce closeness – even after bonding, it is necessary for the health of the Veela, and there are many pleasant and practical side effects for both Veela and mate. However, if you aren’t planning to bond, and you get used to physical contact with Mr Potter, the opposite could be true.”

Scorpius’s mouth was dry. Swallowing did nothing. Seeming oblivious to his reaction, Pomfrey continued.

“It’s a matter of exposure. In the same way that your initial sickness was caused by going from one level of exposure to Mr Potter – seeing him at classes – to spending the whole day with him. If you become accustomed to physical contact, that will become your new neutral. Then, if you don’t maintain the same level of contact, your symptoms will worsen.”

At Scorpius’s stricken expression, Pomfrey’s face softened. “For a while,” she added. “You would eventually adjust. And all of those separation symptoms would go away entirely if you were to bond.”

Scorpius shook his head. “I don’t want to do that.” _Lie._ He wanted to do it, very badly. Sex with Albus – _bonding_ with Albus – would feel like a dream come true, he was certain of it. But Albus didn’t feel the same way, and Scorpius refused to do that to him.

“Mr Malfoy–” Madam Pomfrey sighed. “Scorpius. I know that–”

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a knock on the door. She rose to open it, revealing Headmistress McGonagall, and behind her, Scorpius’s parents. Perhaps in awareness of the awkward mood, McGonagall said nothing, just let Draco and Astoria enter. Pomfrey Conjured two chairs for them, and they sat.

Draco cleared his throat softly. Astoria looked between her son and Madam Pomfrey, and spoke in a gentle tone. “Have we interrupted something?”

Pomfrey glanced back at Scorpius before turning to his parents. “I was just checking on how Scorpius’s symptoms have been this week,” she said. “And I was about to bring up with him again the possibility of bonding.”

In his lap, Scorpius clenched his hands into fists. “And I said that I didn’t want to– I’m _not_ going to do that.”

From her raised eyebrow, Scorpius could tell that his mother had noticed his slip-up, but she said nothing. His father wore a familiar pensive frown that revealed nothing of what he was thinking.

Madam Pomfrey, luckily, hadn’t noticed, and continued on in the same pragmatic tone. “I understand your hesitation,” she said, “but it’s not a life sentence, I promise. It is, however, very important for your health, and I’m sure if you explained that to Mr Potter–”

“I’m not going to tell him,” Scorpius said hotly. Albus would insist on doing it, almost definitely. So far he had taken the Veela mate thing well, surprisingly well, and had been overly accommodating of everything Scorpius needed. But that was Albus being kind – it was the type of person he was. And Scorpius could accept that kindness when it came to sitting together at meals, or living in the same room, but he refused to let Albus sign away his life because of Scorpius’s stupid biology.

“I’ve expressed before that I think you should,” Pomfrey said firmly. She sighed. “Scorpius, not all Veela-mate bonds have to be romantic – it’s uncommon, but not unheard of, for Veelas and their mates to live apart, if that’s what you’re concerned about. It takes some navigation, but your health will be overall much better after a bond…”

Seeing Scorpius’s expression, which was still stubborn and mullish, she sighed, shaking her head. “I’ll give you some pamphlets,” she said, voice foreboding. “Would you mind waiting outside for a few minutes while I speak to your parents?”

No doubt she was going to try and persuade them to convince Scorpius that he should bond with Albus. Scorpius nodded and left the room, suppressing the urge to frown. He wasn’t going to do it, no matter what anyone said.

Scorpius re-entered the Hospital Wing so lost in thought that at first he didn’t notice that he wasn’t alone. When he heard someone clear their throat, he looked up. His heart pounded when he saw Albus sitting on an empty cot.

He swallowed. “What are you doing here?”

Albus got up and crossed the room, stopping a few steps away from Scorpius. The blood thrummed under Scorpius’s skin, his palms itching to reach out and touch Albus.

“You said you had an appointment with Pomfrey in the morning, and then you were going to lunch with your parents,” Albus said, shrugging. “I didn’t want you to get sick again if we didn’t see each other for the whole day.”

Scorpius had been ignoring that possibility, eager for a few Albus-free hours to get his thoughts in order. But now that Albus was in front of him, he immediately felt better, and could acknowledge that it had been a good idea.

He felt embarrassed, though, and didn’t know how to express it. “I thought you had that Quidditch game,” he said instead.

Albus shrugged. “It only lasted a few hours. I’m going to Hogsmeade after this; I just thought I’d stop by and catch you.”

Scorpius smiled. “I’m glad you did.”

Albus held out his arms. “Would a hug be helpful?”

“Yes, please,” Scorpius murmured, and Albus’s arms were around him, one hand cradling his head as he rested it on Albus’s shoulder. Scorpius inhaled deeply and let his eyes fall shut, enjoying the smell of Albus, which was of course when the door to the private room opened and Madam Pomfrey, Draco, and Astoria walked in.

Scorpius blinked his eyes open, disoriented, and pulled back, even though all of his instincts screamed at him to stay close to Albus.

“Mum. Dad.” His parents looked too amused. Scorpius took another step away from Albus and closer to them. “Um, this is Albus Potter.” Swinging back to face Albus, throat suddenly dry with nerves. “Albus, this is my mum and dad.”

Albus was less flustered than Scorpius, although Scorpius reckoned he could see a hint of flush on his cheeks. He was probably embarrassed that Scorpius’s parents had seen them embracing, worried that would make them think their relationship was more serious. He stepped forward to shake hands with both Draco and Astoria, nodding as they introduced themselves again.

Behind his parents, Madam Pomfrey’s mouth was a thin line. “Mr Potter,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

Albus turned to face her. “Ah, yeah,” he said. “I wanted to stop by and see Scorpius for a moment, to make sure he would be feeling alright this afternoon.”

Pomfrey turned her piercing gaze towards Scorpius. “I’m surprised Mr Malfoy hadn’t already arranged for that, since he knew he would be out with his parents.”

“Oh, we just didn’t get a chance to talk about it last night,” Albus said, voice casual. Last night – because they’d been cuddling, and then Scorpius had run into the bathroom to wank over him. His blush was back with a vengeance – _Merlin,_ for a moment he’d almost forgotten his terrible behavior. “Anyway, you should be alright now?” Albus turned back to Scorpius, and Scorpius nodded. “Then I’ll be going to meet my friends for Hogsmeade.” With another quick hug that left Scorpius even pinker than before, Albus was gone.

Madam Pomfrey looked like she wanted to say something very badly, and Draco looked a little confused, but Astoria’s face was placid as she strode over and placed a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder.

“Headmistress McGonagall has been kind enough to let us use her private Floo connection today,” she said. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Yes,” Scorpius said gratefully, and let himself be ushered towards the door.

***

The restaurant they were going to for lunch was one that Scorpius and his mother frequented during the summers. They served the sushi Astoria loved and the Thai curries that Scorpius favoured. Draco, whose limited British palate had followed him into adulthood, didn’t enjoy eating there as much as the other two, but since it was Scorpius who was dealing with a Veela presentation and being mated to Albus Potter, he got to pick the restaurant.

They arrived via Floo into a small parlour and were led down a narrow corridor to a private room, bypassing the main dining space entirely. Normally Scorpius would have been embarrassed by the special treatment, but today he didn’t mind. He wanted to be able to talk with his parents without fear of being overheard, not to mention that the thought of being in a crowded room without Albus’s calming presence was anxiety-inducing.

In the private room, the walls were covered in a busy floral wallpaper edged with gold leaf. The chairs were black with purple cushions, and the crisp white tablecloth was marred only by silverware wrapped in maroon napkins and a geometric votive candle. His parents insisted he sit between them, his mum piling her scarf and purse on the empty chair opposite Scorpius.

A waiter had followed them into the room unobtrusively, and handed them each a menu before Conjuring glasses of water. Astoria ordered a bottle of her favorite wine, and the waiter disappeared with a nod of the head.

Draco frowned as he opened his menu. “So, what’s good here?”

Astoria laughed. “All of it is good, my dear, but I don’t know if everything will be to your taste,” she said, gently teasing.

Scorpius smiled as he opened his menu to the curries, as always. Even though there were several that he liked, he didn’t feel very hungry. Maybe if he didn’t finish he could bring the leftovers back to school and share them with Albus tonight – then he would actually enjoy them, he reflected, mood souring.

“Are you alright, Scorpius?” His dad watched him with concern.

Scorpius forced himself to smile. “Can we order first?”

“Of course, darling,” his mum murmured.

A few minutes later the waiter was back with the wine and three glasses. Scorpius declined, and the waiter poured glasses for both of his parents. They ordered, and were alone again; thankfully, Scorpius thought, until he looked up and saw the intent way both of his parents were focused on him.

“Scorpius,” Astoria said, pouring all of her affection for him into the three syllables of his name. “My darling. Won’t you talk to us?”

“Only if you want to,” Draco added, cutting a sideways look at his wife, who ignored him. “Madam Pomfrey was pretty concerned about your situation.”

Scorpius knotted his hands in his lap, staring at the edge of the tablecloth to avoid looking at his parents. “I knew she was going to tell you to convince me to bond,” he said bitterly.

“No, no,” Astoria said, reaching out as if to touch Scorpius’s arm before thinking better of it and resting her hand on the table instead. “She did want us to talk to you about it, yes, but that’s not what we’re trying to bring up.”

“We care about you, and this is a big change in your life,” Draco added. “How are you holding up?”

Scorpius sighed, trying to relax some of the tension in his shoulders. “I’ve been alright.” His mum and dad were watching him, faces expectant. “My back still hurts, and stuff like that, but all the other symptoms are better now that Albus and I are living together.”

He knew he was blushing, but he could do nothing to stop it. Sitting with his parents in a nice restaurant, saying _Albus and I are living together_ – it felt like the kind of announcement he’d be excited to make, if his life had gone differently.

Luckily his parents didn’t comment on the shade of pink he’d gone.

“That’s good,” Draco said evenly.

“Yeah,” Scorpius said. His face got even hotter, but he soldiered on. “But it’s not– I mean, there are still the separation symptoms. Because we’re not bonded.”

“Scorpius, you know that – you know that we would do _anything_ for you.” Astoria pressed one hand to her chest, her brown eyes wide and earnest. “And if you don’t want to bond, we support you – your father and Uncle Theo have already begun research into potions that might alleviate those symptoms–” Scorpius looked at his dad, surprised, and found a steady grey gaze. “But it would be the easiest solution, and we know you’re feeling poorly, so why...have you even talked to him about it?”

Scorpius shook his head, but was interrupted before he could speak by their plates of food appearing on the table in front of them.

A moment later their waiter knocked and stuck his head in.

“Anything else I can get for you?”

“We’re fine, thank you,” Astoria said. As soon as the door was closed, she turned back to Scorpius, prompting him. “Scorpius?”

“Albus has been great about this whole thing,” he said. “He’s been so concerned about me, and always wants to make sure I’m alright. That’s...really nice,” he admitted. It was true, even if Albus’s kindnesses were also like needles in his heart. “But it’s one thing when that means studying in our room instead of in the library, or meeting me for lunch between classes. Bonding is – that’s for _life,_ that’s serious, and Albus – if I brought it up, I’m afraid he would do it, and then regret it later.”

“But it’s his choice to make,” Astoria said gently. “If you haven’t even told him about it–”

“It doesn’t feel _fair,_” Scorpius said, keeping his eyes on his dinner. “I know what Madam Pomfrey said, but the point of a bond is to be romantic, isn’t it? The person you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with, and all that rot. I can’t– I won’t trap Albus in something like that just because he wants to help me.”

His parents exchanged a look, the kind that made him feel like he was a child again.

Draco frowned. “You say you’re worried about trapping Albus, about him regretting a bond later – but what about you? The bond would go both ways, and there would be benefits, but…”

“I’m not worried about that,” Scorpius whispered. “I mean, it’s not an ideal way for it to happen, but I’ve wanted to be with Albus for a while. And if he’s my mate, that would mean it had a better chance of lasting, right?”

“I thought you were holding out hope that the mate thing was transference,” Astoria teased.

“That would make it easier,” Scorpius muttered.

“I think you should talk to Albus about it,” Draco said. “He deserves to know. And he might not be as opposed to the idea as you thought.”

Scorpius frowned. “I know, he’d probably do it just because he wanted to help, and I don’t _want–_”

“What your father means,” Astoria interrupted, “is that your feelings might not be as unreciprocated as you think.”

Scorpius blinked. “What.”

To his surprise, his father looked a little nervous when he next spoke. “We saw the two of you together today,” he said, as though Scorpius needed to be reminded of that embarrassing moment. “Not for very long, but– Scorpius, the way he looked at you…”

“Talk to him,” Astoria urged. “You owe it to yourself, and to Albus.”

Scorpius scrunched his nose as he looked at his food. He knew his parents wouldn’t lie to him – they’d never been the type to tell him he was good at something when he wasn’t, or compliment him to inflate his ego – but he still thought they were mistaken. In any case, he was tired of talking about his fucked up love life. “We should eat before the food gets cold,” he said, and they let the subject drop.

***

Scorpius was starting to feel shaky again by the time they finished eating, but his parents didn’t call him on it, just gave him gentle hugs before they sent him through the Floo to Hogwarts. McGonagall wasn’t in her office, so Scorpius crept out quietly, trying to ignore the turning of his stomach.

He knew he should go and find Albus now, in order to make himself feel better, but doing so on the heels of the conversation he’d just had with his parents made him antsy. He would go back to their room and wait there, he decided: that way Albus would know where to find him, and he could lie down and rest while he waited.

As he approached the door to their room, he felt better, the knowledge that he would be in his private space and able to rest buoying him; then he opened the door and saw Albus, and realised the true reason he’d improved.

“Scorpius. Hi.” Albus was lying on his bed, reading; when he saw Scorpius he put down the book and sat to greet him.

The force of his attention made Scorpius flush, and he had to avert his gaze as he walked to his desk and put his leftover food down, casting a Stasis Charm on it.

“How was lunch with your parents?” Albus asked.

“It was good,” Scorpius said, finally turning to face him. “I brought leftovers,” he added unnecessarily, gesturing to them.

Albus frowned. “Were you not hungry at the restaurant?”

Scorpius shifted. “Not super hungry,” he admitted. “But I wasn’t feeling too bad or anything, I promise. It was good that I got to see you before we left,” he added, blushing. After the day he’d had, he was surprised he hadn’t gone permanently pink.

To his surprise, Albus shifted back on his bed, patting the space beside them. “Do you want to eat now?”

Scorpius blinked at him. Was Albus offering…? He grabbed his leftovers and brought them to the bed. They were still a little warm from the restaurant, and the smell as he opened the container made his stomach rumble with an anticipation in a way that hadn’t happened when he’d first been served.

“Do you want some?”

Albus shook his head. “You enjoy.”

With Albus beside him, Scorpius actually enjoyed his curry, although he almost spilled a forkful down his front when Albus unexpectedly wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“How was Hogsmeade?”

Albus shrugged. “The same as always. We went to the Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes. I realised I forgot to ask what sweets you like, so I got a few things for us to share.” Albus nodded towards his own desk, where a box with the tell-tale Honeydukes logo sat.

“You got sweets for me because I wasn’t there?”

“Yeah,” Albus said easily. “I hope you like some of what I picked, at least.”

Carefully, Scorpius turned back to his leftover curry, which was now almost gone. Once in fifth year, he’d been too sick to go to Hogsmeade but had needed a special coloured ink for an Astronomy project. He’d sent Niles and Elinor with the money to get it but they’d both forgotten in the midst of an on-again phase of the fling they’d been having that year. He’d had to owl his parents and ask them to send it from London instead.

Albus had gotten Scorpius sweets without him even asking.

Unbidden, the memory of lunch with his parents rose to the front of Scorpius’s mind; the way his dad had said _Scorpius, the way he looked at you_ – but getting sweets for the person you roomed with was only polite; Scorpius’s imagination was running away from him again.

“Thank you,” Scorpius said carefully, and was caught off guard by Albus’s bright grin.

“You’re welcome.”

***

After relaxing all afternoon on Saturday, Sunday was a day of studying, but Scorpius didn’t mind being holed up in the library when Albus was beside him. The monotony of homework was broken up by Albus’s funny commentary on his assignments, and more than once Scorpius found himself stifling his laughter when Madam Pince walked by their table.

When they finally got back to their room that night, Albus took the first turn in the bathroom, and when Scorpius finished Albus was waiting for him, sitting against his headboard. He held out one arm in the way that Scorpius now knew meant he wanted Scorpius to come sit beside him; heart pounding, Scorpius did.

“We were together all day, I won’t have any trouble falling asleep,” Scorpius protested as he climbed onto Albus’s bed. It was true, he wouldn’t – but being close to Albus always made him feel better, even when nothing was wrong.

“I know,” Albus said. “Consider it stocking up for classes tomorrow. Unless you don’t want to–”

Scorpius cut him off by inserting himself under Albus’s arm, pulling it tightly around him. “That’s not how it works,” he murmured, but it was a half-hearted protest at best; he didn’t even know that Albus had heard him. Scorpius’s head ended up resting on Albus’s chest, and he let the sound of Albus’s heartbeat sooth him. He could have fallen asleep, then and there. He never wanted to get up.

He might actually have fallen asleep, but Albus started tracing random patterns across his back, and it lit up nerves inside Scorpius that he didn’t even know he had.

He couldn’t suppress the groan that came out when Albus stroked his palm over one of Scorpius’s shoulder blades.

Beneath him, Albus froze. Scorpius had a moment of panic, _oh no I’ve made him uncomfortable,_ but then Albus spoke.

“Did I hurt you?”

Scorpius shook his head, pushing his face farther into Albus’s chest. “_No,_” he said emphatically. “It was good.”

Albus did it again, and Scorpius shivered, clutching at Albus’s shirt with the hand that wasn’t folded underneath him. For the first time in weeks, maybe even months, his back didn’t hurt. His shoulders weren’t tight with tension. They didn’t feel neutral, even – they felt _good._

Albus pulled him closer, or maybe Scorpius pulled himself closer, but suddenly he was half on top of Albus again and couldn’t bring himself to care, because Albus was massaging his shoulders now and it felt– it felt–

“Yes,” Scorpius hissed, arching his back, and gasped when Albus traced down his spine. He wrapped his arms around Albus’s neck, resting his forehead against Albus’s shoulder. Below him, Albus’s breath came faster, and Scorpius looked up to make sure that Albus was alright – that he wasn’t taking things too far – but the words on his tongue died when they made eye contact.

Albus’s eyes were dark, his gaze heavy. There was a flush high on his cheeks, and as Scorpius watched, his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. It caught Scorpius’s attention – his lips looked so soft, and Scorpius wanted to touch them – he knew it would feel amazing, he knew it would make his Veela instincts, already buzzing under his skin, go haywire, and for once that was what he _wanted._ Before he knew he was doing it, he leaned up, pushing their mouths together, and Albus was moaning and gasping and grabbing his cheeks, holding him close. Scorpius scrambled up onto his knees, planting them on either side of Albus’s hips, so he was curled over his mate. Albus panted underneath him, and it was a feedback loop of good; Scorpius wanted to touch him everywhere, and so he did, Albus’s shoulders and neck and sides; and every time Albus shivered so receptively, jerking under Scorpius’s hands.

Before he realised it their hips were moving in rhythm, Albus pushing up while Scorpius bore down, hands still roaming with abandon. And all the while they kissed – Albus’s sweet lips on Scorpius’s, mouths open, messy; nothing like the shy, simple kisses that Scorpius had experienced in the past, during a game of spin the bottle or at the end of an ill-fated Hogsmeade date.This kiss was devouring, and Scorpius was more turned on than he’d ever been in his life; there was fire in his veins, but at the same time, a sense of calmness and rightness that allowed him to focus on the little things – the slick wetness of Albus’s tongue, the tangle of his hair, the calluses on his fingers as they unbuttoned Scorpius’s shirt–

“Wait.”

Scorpius wrenched himself away with a gasp, so he was sitting on Albus’s hips – not much better of a position, actually; his erection was far more obvious than he would have liked, but he couldn’t be too embarrassed about it when Albus was hard, too. Albus’s hands were still on Scorpius’s chest, and he stared at him in wide-eyed confusion, his lips all pink and tempting.

“We can’t,” Scorpius said, ignoring the pounding of his heart, which seemed to be insisting _you can, you can._

“What?” Albus’s voice was croaky.

“We shouldn’t,” Scorpius amended. “You don’t– It wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Albus began to sit up, and Scorpius scrambled off of him, sitting on his knees at the other end of the bed. With the expanse of crumpled duvet between them, it should have been easier to resist the urge to touch, but all Scorpius wanted to do was launch himself into Albus’s arms.

Albus took a deep breath and crossed his arms. When he met Scorpius’s eyes, his gaze was steady. “You don’t want to do this?”

“I don’t think we should,” Scorpius hedged.

“Did I push you?” Albus looked concerned.

“No! It’s not that,” Scorpius said. “I liked it, I just – we can’t do it again.”

Albus let out a hard breath. “Alright,” he said. “If you don’t mind– I’m just going to, uh–” He slid off the bed, going directly to the bathroom. The _click_ of the door made Scorpius realise he was still sitting on Albus’s bed, and he hurried to his own, pulling the curtains shut around him and burying his face in his hands.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why did he keep doing this? He wanted Albus – he wanted Albus _so much_ – and the Veela inside of him wanted Albus, too. But Albus didn’t want Scorpius – at least, not permanently. Not forever. Albus might want to have sex with Scorpius, but he didn’t know that would mean bonding, and if he did, he’d surely change his mind. He’d tell Scorpius to stay well away from him, keep their contact to the minimum needed to maintain Scorpius’s health.

Scorpius’s erection had not caught up with his inner turmoil, and was still pressing insistently against the front of his trousers. Albus could be wanking in the bathroom. That probably made what Scorpius was about to do even more inappropriate, but the image in his mind – Albus with his head hanging down, mouth freshly kissed, biting his lip as the red head of his cock peeked through his fist…

With a muffled curse, Scorpius took out his own cock. It didn’t take long for him to come, and he was succumbing to sleep before he heard Albus come back into their room.

***

Monday morning found Scorpius at the Slytherin table for breakfast, struggling to keep his eyes open as he stirred sugar into his tea. He hadn’t slept well last night, and had skipped his usual morning shower in favour of half-arsed Cleaning Charms so he could flee the room while Albus was in the bathroom. As a result, he felt crusty and gross from his late-night wank, the minty aftertaste of the Teeth Cleaning Charm he’d used was making his tea taste vile, and all he could think about were the noises Albus had made while Scorpius kissed him, and how much he wanted to hear them again.

“You’re looking rough this morning,” Elinor said bluntly as she sat down across from him. “Trouble in paradise?” Scorpius frowned, and Elinor raised her eyebrows. “Oh no, really?”

Scorpius flicked a glance to the side, but there was no one sitting near them; the Slytherin table, like the other three, was practically abandoned this early in the morning. “I kissed him last night,” he confessed.

“Shut _up! _You did not!” Elinor said, slamming her hand on the table and making the tea service rattle. When Scorpius didn’t share her enthusiasm, her expression slid into one of concern. “So why do you look so upset about it, then?”

“Because that isn’t a _good_ thing,” Scorpius replied.

“It’s not?”

“No!” Scorpius huffed. “Obviously! I had to stop him before we – I mean – he was taking off my shirt!” His face was bright red, and he was making no sense. 

Of course Elinor had to call him on it. “The boy you’ve liked for literal years tried to get you naked while you were snogging,” Elinor said flatly. “Oh no, woe is you?”

“Woe _is_ me,” Scorpius snapped. “Because nothing can happen, obviously! If we have sex, we’ll be– _bonded,_” he said, realising how loud he’d been getting and lowering his voice to a whisper. “I can’t bond with him, El!”

“You want to, though.”

“Well, yes!” Scorpius sighed. “But he doesn’t want to.”

“He doesn’t even know it’s an option,” Elinor countered.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Did you arrange this with my parents and Pomfrey so you can _all_ gang up on me about this?”

“If your parents have also told you that you’re an idiot for not explaining the situation to Albus and allowing him to make his own decision about it, then I’m honoured to be in good company.”

“Ha fucking ha.”

“Really, Scorpius. He deserves to know. You’re signing yourself up for a life of misery – don’t you want to see if there could be another option?”

“It might be a transference bond,” Scorpius argued, but even to himself the words sounded weak.

Elinor’s expression was full of pity. “We both know that isn’t true.”

“I know,” Scorpius whispered.

“Just talk to him,” Elinor said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Well–”

“No, I don’t actually want you to think about that,” Elinor interrupted. “Instead, how about – what’s the _best_ thing that could happen?”

And Scorpius had no response to that, because it was what he’d been dreaming about every day.

***

By Monday evening, Scorpius was feeling headachey and a little queasy. He’d been avoiding Albus all day, and though being in the same room as him for a few classes had kept the worst of the separation symptoms at bay, the lack of physical contact or closeness was taking its toll. Scorpius would have to admit defeat on his self-imposed isolation unless he wanted to end up in the Hospital Wing again – and unfortunately, he’d probably have to talk to Albus about his day-long avoidance. Despite his parents and Elinor’s urgings, he still wasn’t ready to broach the topic of bonding, but he might not be able to get away from some kind of conversation.

He was looking forward to ignoring his assignments in favour of curling up in bed – maybe he could convince Albus to join him, he thought with a little stomach flip. But as he approached the door, he drew up short at the sound of voices coming from inside.

“...obviously isn’t interested, Rose,” Albus said, sounding melancholy.

Scorpius froze. The door was slightly cracked, the voices from inside audible from where he’d stopped a few feet away. But it wasn’t right for him to eavesdrop. He should knock on the door and let them know he was there – or better yet, turn around and come back later, pretending he’d never heard anything.

“How can you know if you don’t talk to him about it?” That was Albus’s cousin Rose, with a tone so reminiscent of Elinor’s this morning that Scorpius frowned. What were they talking about?

“What’s the point?” Albus asked. “Every time we’ve gotten anywhere close to taking things to the next level, he’s stopped it. Practically run away from me, more like.”

Scorpius took a step closer to the door, unable to stop himself. Did that mean Albus had wanted to keep kissing last night?”

“Maybe he’s just nervous.” From Rose’s tone, it wasn’t the first time she’d said it.

“It’s because he doesn’t want to bond,” Albus replied. “He might want me physically, but he doesn’t want that commitment – that’s why he keeps stopping things.”

Scorpius’s heart pounded in his chest. Albus knew about Veela-mate bonds? Why hadn’t he mentioned it to Scorpius before?

“Albus.” Rose’s voice was a mix of frustrated and tired. “That’s not how it works, when it comes to Veela and their mates. Didn’t you finish that book I gave you? If you can count on one thing, it’s the fact that Scorpius wants you more than physically.”

Oh, Merlin. As much as he wanted to hear what Albus said next, Scorpius should really not be eavesdropping on this conversation. Pulse beating in his ears, he turned around to leave, but he’d only gotten halfway down the corridor when the door opened behind him. Shit. _Shit._ Why would he be walking away from his own room!

Face flaming, he whirled around, starting back towards the door just as Rose stepped out and saw him.

“Scorpius! Hi!”

As soon as he heard Rose say his name, Albus was out the door as well.

He repeated the greeting, face splitting into a smile, and reached out to grab Scorpius’s hand as soon as he was close enough. “How are you feeling?”

Scorpius forced himself to smile, hoping the fact that he’d overheard their conversation wasn’t written across his face. “Better now,” he said, which was truthful at least.

“Albus and I were just going over that Potions assignment,” Rose said, lying smoothly.

“I haven’t started that yet,” Scorpius admitted. “I’ve been dreading it, actually.”

“I can help you if you want,” Albus said, squeezing Scorpius’s shoulder. Even that simple contact, after a day spent apart, was enough to turn Scorpius’s joints pleasantly liquid.

Rose rolled her eyes fondly. “After I’ve helped you with it, you mean?” she teased. “Have a good night, Albus. Good to see you, Scorpius.” And with a whirl of brown curls she was gone, leaving Scorpius and Albus in the corridor outside their room.

With a sheepish smile, Albus led the way back inside, hovering by the door as Scorpius dropped his bag and shrugged off his robes, laying them over the back of his chair.

“How are you really feeling?” Albus asked, brow creased with concern. “I know we didn’t see each other much today–”

“And that’s my own fault,” Scorpius said quickly. “And it hasn’t been a great day, but I’m not feeling terrible. I promise.”

Albus’s expression was still worried. “Look, Scorpius, I’m really sorry about last night–”

Scorpius held up a hand to silence him. “You have nothing to apologise for.” He sat on the edge of his bed, then patted the spot behind him, indicating that Albus should join. “But I think we have some things to talk about.”

Albus made his way gingerly across the room as Scorpius repositioned himself, sitting with his legs crossed. Albus mirrored his position, reaching out to tangle his fingers with Scorpius’s once he was settled. Scorpius gladly took his hands, enjoying the way their bodies made a closed circuit, palms pressed together and knees lightly brushing.

Scorpius took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on their intertwined hands. “How much do you know about Veela and their mates?”

Across from him, Albus shifted. “Probably not as much as you,” he said. “But I did do some research, after I found out about you. About us.”

Scorpius nodded. It hadn’t occurred to him until Rose had mentioned it that Albus might have done his own investigating, although it made sense – Scorpius really should have figured that out before. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

“No.” Albus bit his lip. “I wasn’t trying to keep it from you, but I wanted to know how I could be there for you, and I didn’t want to stress you out more by constantly asking you questions. Although I guess I’ve been doing some of that too,” he admitted with a small smile.

“You’ve been fine,” Scorpius said. “So, does that mean...you know about bonding?”

It felt like it took hours for Albus to answer the question, but in reality Scorpius knew it was only seconds. “Yes,” he said finally, sounding nervous. “I know about bonding.”

“I hadn’t told you,” Scorpius said, voice a bit shaky, “because I didn’t want you to feel pressured to– to bond with me.” The words felt clumsy on his tongue, oversized with how much he wanted them. “I know this all– came on very fast, and we weren’t even friends, really, before, and I didn’t– I wasn’t trying to keep it from you.”

“I know,” Albus whispered. He squeezed Scorpius’s hands. “It’s scary. For both of us.”

Scorpius forced himself to keep talking. “You’ve been so great about everything,” he said. “I was worried that if you knew about the bond, you would insist that we do it, and I didn’t want that.”

He forced himself to meet Albus’s eyes. Albus looked surprised, and a little hurt, by Scorpius’s words. He opened his mouth to speak, but Scorpius continued before he could.

“_I_ really wanted to have sex,” he said, trying to keep his voice measured, “because the truth is I’ve liked you for ages. But I didn’t want you to feel obligated to have sex with me for the sake of some stupid _bond,_ because of stupid Veela biology that I didn’t even _ask for._ I wanted you to have sex with me because you wanted to do that. With me.”

Albus stared at him, looking shell-shocked. Scorpius allowed it to go on for a few moments before he pulled his hands back, crossing them across his chest self-consciously. “Well?” he said. “I’ve spilled all my secrets. Now it’s your turn.”

That seemed to spur Albus into action. “Scorpius – I’ve liked you for _ages,_” he blurted, leaning forward and gripping Scorpius’s knees. “Since the beginning of sixth year, at least. I almost asked you out, at the end of last term, but Rose had heard someone say you used to date Elinor, so I didn’t know if you liked boys–”

“_You_ liked _me_?” Scorpius repeated, incredulous.

“Yes!” Albus laughed. “You were always so aloof, I thought you found me annoying.”

“You’re too cool for me!” Scorpius laughed too. “You shouldn’t like me! That shouldn’t be allowed!”

Albus’s grin was the largest Scorpius had ever seen it. “When Pomfrey told me we were mates, I was so happy, because I thought it must mean you liked me too, but then you seemed so annoyed by it–”

“Only because I thought the universe was playing a huge cosmic joke on my fucking life,” Scorpius promised. He grabbed Albus’s face, pulling him in close so their foreheads were touching. “Now that we’ve got all that cleared up, do I get to kiss you now?”

“Please,” Albus said. And Scorpius did.

***

After a time spent kissing – a _long_ time spent kissing, until Scorpius’s lips were red and tender, and he’d gained a new appreciation for how sensitive they could be – they were curled up on Scorpius’s bed, with Albus tucked into his side, one arm wrapped around Scorpius’s waist. Scorpius marveled at how good he felt – energised and alert, even though by all rights he should have been sleepy, although honestly a nap sounded good, too – when Albus shifted to prop his head on Scorpius’s chest, looking up at him.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Scorpius said, lips breaking into a smile. Albus wore the evidence of their kissing well. His lips were pink, his hair standing on end even more than usual. On his bare shoulder, there were three fresh bruises forming.

“Hey,” Albus laughed. Scorpius ran a hand through Albus’s hair, cupping the back of his head. It was incredible to see his own happiness reflected back to him through Albus’s green eyes. “So, I’m glad we cleared up the misunderstanding where you somehow thought I wasn’t crazy about you, but we still have to talk about the whole bonding thing.”

Scorpius tightened his hand in Albus’s hair, body going involuntarily tense. “I guess we should.”

“We don’t have to do it now–”

“No, now’s as good a time as any,” Scorpius said. “I mean.” He sighed. “It makes me feel a lot better about it, to know that you had feelings for me before the whole– Veela thing.”

“I did,” Albus promised.

“But it still makes me nervous. It’s a big step – bonding for _life_ – and it still feels like something we wouldn’t have gotten to if it weren’t for the Veela thing pushing the issue.”

Albus frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not like we were dating and then this happened, and we decided to bond. I mean, I had feelings for you, but I probably wouldn’t have worked up the guts to do anything about them if you weren’t my mate,” Scorpius said.

“I might have had the guts.”

“Albus–”

“No, I hear what you’re saying,” Albus interrupted. “I get the concern, I do. But bonding will make things so much better for you. It kills me that you can’t go a day without seeing me – not that I want to be away from you, but what if something happened and we had to be separated? It’s manageable right now, when we’re in school, but what happens after?”

“It’s not going to go away entirely, even if we do bond,” Scorpius reminded him.

“I know. But we’d be able to be apart if we needed to. You wouldn’t be on the verge of passing out after a few hours.” Albus grabbed Scorpius’s free hand, resting on his chest, and squeezed it. “I’ve been really worried about you.”

“I don’t want you to regret it later,” Scorpius said.

“What about you regretting it?” Albus asked.

Scorpius’s voice was quiet when he finally spoke. “I don’t think I will.”

“And I don’t either,” Albus promised.

If he was being honest with himself, Scorpius really wanted to bond with Albus. Not just for the fact that it would make his life much easier – he wouldn’t mind having an appetite all the time again – but because he craved the connection it would bring them with both his Veela side and his human side. And it would be good for Albus too – he’d done his own research, and the benefits to happily bonded human mates were indisputable. Plus it didn’t hurt that it would mean having sex with Albus – definitely a major perk.

But he couldn’t help being worried, and he said that.

“I know,” Albus said. “I get it. Look – we don’t have to do it right this second. Things have been going well as they are for the most part. But can you at least think about the possibility of us bonding someday?”

“Make this a kind of trial period, you mean?” Scorpius said. “To make sure this is what we want?”

“I mean, I’m pretty sure it is, but yes.”

Scorpius smiled. “I like that idea.”

Albus brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Scorpius said. He leaned in for a kiss, although the strain on his neck meant it had to be a quick one. “I’ve wanted to date you for a while, after all.”

That made Albus laugh. “Dating. I like that.”

“Dating while you’re forced to live with me and see me every day or my health is at risk.”

Albus shrugged. “I can live with that.” He shuffled up the bed so his face was closer to Scorpius’s, and Scorpius pulled him down into another kiss. “And if you like dating me, maybe you’ll bond with me.”

Scorpius smirked. “_Maybe._”

“Shut up.”

“You’ll have to woo me, then.”

“I already brought you sweets,” Albus pointed out.

“You did.” Scorpius kissed him. “Thank you. For everything, Albus. You’ve been more than I could have hoped for throughout this whole situation.”

Albus smiled as he leaned in for another kiss. “Anything for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated. You can find me on tumblr @violetclarity.


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